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my super low tech reef jarquarium (with diy pj reef)


new-b-reefer

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new-b-reefer

 

Jesus. I was debating whether to get a PJ Reef or to DIY my own, but if the light is only 8.99....

Yeah, I was doing little jar reefs similar to the pj reef for a long time. He beat me to making a business out of it so props to him for sure. I loved his choice of jar though so I picked up a similar if not the exact same jar $5, the led was $10, the lamp fixture I got at a goodwill for $7, then the rock and frags :) I actually made one for my coworker and one as a fathers day gift for my father in law ;)

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I have a question. This jar is sealed right. How is the reef getting oxygen? I am thinking of starting one of these but that question was bugging me.

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They work like this:

 

a gap exists between the lid and the water, thats holdover until the next time you open it which can be a very long time, it holds o2 and waste gas co2 made by the animals inside. were it never opened, everything would die in X timeframe. it is not possible to keep a coral reef ecosystem of any type that is not fed, and in feeding we introduce o2 in these reefs.

 

you also have standard light-driven plant driven o2 pumping going on under that sealed lid all day, keeps up the o2 in this little atmosphere.

 

the depth isn't too hard to get some gas exchange beneficial within the top layer of the water column, perhaps a much larger tank might suffer but these tolerate it well per the lifespans shown so far.

 

currents exist even in still reefs, all you have to do is put a drop of food coloring in one to see. it doesnt just fall into a lump at the bottom of the tank and stay a droplet submerged, it disperses in time through dissolution pathways and small temp differences in the tank between the upper water column areas heated by the lights and the lower areas not heated, little curents made by pods if applicable, brownian molecular motion etc. tons of microcurrents are in there

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new-b-reefer

 

I have a question. This jar is sealed right. How is the reef getting oxygen? I am thinking of starting one of these but that question was bugging me.

The jar is not 100% air tight. First thing I did before I set it up was fill it with water, put the lid on and turn it upside down, water started leaking out. If water can get out, air can get in, although minimal, it is enough for the few creatures inside. Also a key point is having macro algae (plant life) inside. This helps compete for excess nutrients and more so, is a source of oxygen production :)

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hey thats a neat point I had assumed the pjreef setups were sealed?> i hadnt read the whole thread

 

if you are adding any topoff water, even occasionally, that redistributes things as well

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new-b-reefer

And I also have a small magnet cleaner I made using ceramic magnets from the craft store. (Ceramic magnets because they are corrosion resistant) so when I go around the glass with that, that kinda stirs things a bit as well. I have also noticed in my daily observations that the star polyps and zoas will close and re open at random, also catching the copepods in the water, this creates micro currents and the few feather duster hitch hikers I have I have noticed them close and then extend an sort of rotate as if to generate flow around them sometimes. Just little things I have noticed but each of those actions causes a reaction in regards to water and movement. Wheather easily visible or not, its there :)

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  • 4 weeks later...
new-b-reefer

Small update. Been a while. The kar is doing very well. I have done 2 waterchanges since the start up day. Corals and critters doing well. The red macro is not doing as well as I woild like. The little starfish like to eat the bubble like leaves. Might be cause it was a cutting or something. May need another piece or maybe another option. But over all, things are going great :) knock on wood :)

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This is great. What I love most about reef jars is that neglect won't harm them. Sometimes they need to be left alone to establish themselves. I just ordered the same light you have, thanks for the link. Are you liking the light so far? Keep up the good work!

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new-b-reefer

This is great. What I love most about reef jars is that neglect won't harm them. sometime they need to be left alone to establish themselves. I just ordered the same light you have, thanks for the link. Are you liking the light so far? Keep up the good work!

Hey, thanks for tue kind words. Yes I am loving the light. I did put a couple of old books under the base to elevate it a bit. With summer being here and the light is very strong. Was getting more of that dust like algae on the glass. So I raised it about 2-3 inches up. But love the light. Hope to see pics of yours once you get it. What size tank are you putting it over?

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I have a 3 gallon cookie jar right now that I was thinking about putting it on but instead I'm probably going to setup a new cookie jar tank. They are so much fun and most people don't realize how easy they are!

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  • 3 weeks later...
new-b-reefer

 

I have a 3 gallon cookie jar right now that I was thinking about putting it on but instead I'm probably going to setup a new cookie jar tank. They are so much fun and most people don't realize how easy they are!

Agreed. Love these little projects.

 

Update! Still going strong. The feather dusters are all still kicking, seen lots of bristle worms. Still have my mini stars and little copepods swimming about. Corals doing well. Snapped a few pics last night

20140806_200718_zpsdcp1oj3d.jpg20140806_200711_zpscmuvrfgq.jpg20140806_200705_zpsld6rvryg.jpg

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new-b-reefer

 

Looks healthy! What does the other side look like?

Those are pics from 3 sides. The other side has a couple green mushies. Nothing super pretty lol

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  • 2 weeks later...

I almost bought the pjreef myself but then i saw your jars and thought it would be more fun to do it all myself. Thanks for posting this! Started off with two jars; one with an air stone, one without. Added some rock and cerith so far. Seen a few copepods roaming around. Thought about adding a scarlet hermit crab but my local shop is out :( Still waiting for my LED to come in the mail.

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That is so cool!!!

 

 

I actually have that light bulb ordered and coming for my .5G project. Now I know I can use it to make an awesome jar reef later on. The color really is not bad from your pics. :)

 

Where do you get these jars?

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That is so cool!!!

 

 

I actually have that light bulb ordered and coming for my .5G project. Now I know I can use it to make an awesome jar reef later on. The color really is not bad from your pics. :)

 

Where do you get these jars?

 

 

 

You can find all of these jars at Michaels. Thats where i got mine.

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new-b-reefer

thanks for all the kinda words everyone.

 

What kind of feeding/maintenance/upkeep do you do for them? Might be a neat birthday present for my girlfriend.

Halo_003 as far maintinance and upkeep, very minimal. they are great gifts, i made one for a co-worker and one for my father in law.

* i dont feed anything

* i change out all the water once a month

* i give it on average 6 hours of light per day, sometime more sometimes less. if i am going to be gone all day, i leave the light off. (this helps battle the algae away.

* i use 1 piece of rock and the corals frags are super glued to it. this way come water change time, i remove the rock and corals all in one piece, dump out the water, wipe the inside glass with a paper towel and rinse it out, put rock with coral back in, fill with fresh saltwater, put lid one and done. its a once a month 5 minute process :) also by havig the coral and rock all one piece, it makes it easy to remove and spot treat for algae if necessary.

* i also made a magnet scrubber out of small magnets i picked up from michaels or hobby lobby, the come in packs of like 8, i use one inside and one outside (use the ceramic magnets as they wont rust) i glued a piece of filter floss for the one inside the jar.

 

with the water changes and leaving the light off from time to time, it helps keep the algae from taking hold and going nuts.

 

and other than all that, i never remove the lid, it stays closed and i dont notice eveporation. i only use simple and cheap, low light frags. they are very forgiving and resilient. mine will tell me sometime when they want new water, they will open a little less and for a shorter period, once i change the water, they perk right up and this happen about every month or so.

 

hope that helps :)

 

I almost bought the pjreef myself but then i saw your jars and thought it would be more fun to do it all myself. Thanks for posting this! Started off with two jars; one with an air stone, one without. Added some rock and cerith so far. Seen a few copepods roaming around. Thought about adding a scarlet hermit crab but my local shop is out :( Still waiting for my LED to come in the mail.

i have been thinking about critters that could be added. have stuck with the micro fauna that come in on the rocks though. i have done an experiment in another jar i had going for a long time, nothing but an air stone and live rock, no water changes at all or anything, kept a hermit crab in it for a long time till i took down the jar and the hermit was still kicking so i moved him into my 4 gallon reef :) so they may be able to handle it. i had also considdered a dwarf cerith but have left things as is thus far. kinda a "dont fix what aint broken" thing. i have been tossing around an idea for another jar, set up the same way but of a slightly larger volume. we will see. if it happens it will be on this thread for sure ;)

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Thanks so much for the detail. My bulb for here today and I picked up the jar(exact same one I think) and ceramic magnets as well. I have a few more questions...

 

Did you cycle it?

 

Live rock or dry to start it?

 

Do you think a small hermit would be okay in it? I was thinking 1 blue leg hermit would be okay and if not them a dwarf depth would work.

 

Do you know if Xenia will work in it without flow? I figured it would be nice to have a bit of movement.

 

Really appreciate the help, thanks.

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